The Karnes County Economic Development Corporation (KCEDC) in conjunction with the Kenedy Chamber of Commerce and the Karnes City Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Kenedy.

The event will take place on Thursday, January 4 at 10 a.m. at the construction site on Highway 181 just north of Kenedy.

"It’s been a long time coming," said KCEDC Executive Director Terry Trevino. "We are very enthusiastic about the jobs and variety of Business/Retail development that will come to Karnes County."

"We had some delays trying to resolve traffic lights and traffic signals with TXDOT. We also had to do a joint agreement for infrastructure that took a little bit longer to get back from Wal-Mart," Trevino said. "From what I understand, the grand opening date is still set for August 7, 2007."

The Supercenter will be inside Kenedy’s industrial park, located inside city limits on the north side of town adjacent to U.S. Highway 181.

The new store will be about 100,000 square feet in size, which is smaller than most Wal-Mart Supercenters, but twice the size of the Wal-Mart store currently operating in Kenedy.

The store will offer more of everything the current Wal-Mart offers, plus produce and gasoline. Plans for the area also include spots for two restaurants.

Economic development officials aren’t planning on turning a blind eye to the old Wal-Mart building, either. Trevino said it continues to be one of her priorities to make sure it doesn’t sit unused.

"There are several people that are waiting for Wal-Mart to move out," Trevino explained. "I’ve been trying to recruit several businesses. That building, I’m hoping it’ll be a little bit easier (to sell) because they already have infrastructure there. I’m hoping that the square footage and traffic counts in that facility will meet the criteria for a good business going in there."

Refreshments will be served immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony at the KCEDC office located on the opposite side of the highway from the construction site.

Please call Karnes County EDC for any additional information at (830) 534-2777 or (830) 583-3957.